10/08/2021
I came across a series of articles about the various "tribes" living in Brittany. This amusing article in Le Télégramme (Breton newspaper) is about the British in Central Brittany. Here is what I have translated for you.
"They speak a universal language, eat Cornish pasties and wear mauve sandals with green socks. Our British friends are the largest and most surprising community to have made Brittany their home, particularly in Central Britany.
The English! According to a study by the Regional Economic Council (Ceser), there are about 13,000 residents in the region and about 10,000 holiday homes owned by the British. Brittany attracts the British, but where? Of course, there is Roscoff (29) with its wine and beer cellars, but there is also Dinard (35) with its Film Festival. The British are not only on our coasts, on our "so chic” Riviera, they are also present in Gouarec, Mûr-de-Bretagne, Plévin, Glomel, Maël-Carhaux (22), Huelgoat (29)...
The Armorican dream on British Tele:
Even before the 2003 heatwave that made our Breton weather attractive, even before climate change, the property market boom, the TGV (high-speed trains), the flattering notoriety of Nantes and Rennes, the great outdoors... that make our region an Eldorado for Parisians, even before the Covid epidemic, the pioneers to our region were the fellow citizens of Mr. Blair and Mrs. Thatcher. Benefiting from the late entry of their country into the European Community where free movement began to rhyme with free relocation, they were the first few pioneers in the 1980s to cross the Channel.
In the early 2000s, the movement became so massive that in 2003, Channel 5, an English TV channel, hosted a prime-time game, "Dream Holiday Homes". The first prize? A penty! The host of the show, the very popular Carol Smillie, even spoke fervently about Trégornan (a village in Glomel)! Such publicity for Central Brittany!
Central Brittany, it grows on you:
We saw the British disembarking! Many settled down, seduced by the old stone houses which they resuscitated. Let us not lie: we sometimes heard a few soft moans about the so-called "roast beef", in response to the rise in property prices in some villages. There was also some gnashing of teeth because our English did not always call on local craftsmen! They became handymen and undertook the renovations themselves. The relationship with them has since become normal as this migration to Central Brittany has revived villages and maintained public services, even schools, thanks to these newcomers.
Who are they anyway? Mostly pensioners, but not only. Our British have also opened small pubs, tea rooms or have businesses in properties or in the building trade for example. A few are chiropractors, others give English lessons in the evenings and we even came across one or two notable academic scholars. One of them, Alison Wall, was associated with the production of an English page in Le Poher, a Central Brittany weekly digest. A family from Carnoët (22) also launched its small monthly newspaper for the community.
Walking football:
The king of English sports remains the game that they invented: football! Sometimes, they undertake surprising demonstrations when they come here. For example in Silfiac (56), Jeffrey and Sheelagh Smith invented a “Walking football” with their local friends. So British! "On the field, we speak French, English, and Breton at the same time."
An association was established in Central Brittany to welcome the English “tribe”: AIKB, the Kreiz Breizh Integration Association. Maggie Fee, who helps them with their administrative procedures, mentioned: there has not been a decline in relocation in 2021 due to Brexit. There are more and more English wanting to relocate, in one direction or another".
I hope you enjoyed reading this article. You may be able to relate to it!
And if you require any relocation, administrative or translation services, I would be pleased to assist you.
Ils parlent une langue universelle, mangent des cornish pasties et peuvent porter des sandales mauves avec des chaussettes vertes. Nos amis les British sont la plus grande et étonnante communauté d’adoption de Bretagne. Et surtout du Centre-Bretagne. « I love you Kreiz-Breizh ! », crie la trib...
